Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, DC 20549 Form 10-K (Mark One) ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission File No. 001-34521 HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter) Delaware 20-1480589 (State or Other Jurisdiction of (IRS Employer Incorporation or Organization) Identification No.) 71 South Wacker Drive, 12th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60606 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (312) 750-1234 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of Each Class Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered Class A Common Stock, $0.01 par value New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes No Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes No Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer Non-accelerated filer Smaller reporting company Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes No As of June 30, 2015, the aggregate market value of the registrant's Class A common stock, $0.01 par value, held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $1,863.0 million (based upon the closing sale price of the Class A common stock on June 30, 2015 on The New York Stock Exchange). The market value of the registrant's Class B common stock is not included in the above value as there is no active market for such stock. As of January 31, 2016, there were 26,023,355 shares of the registrant's Class A common stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding and 109,628,962 shares of the registrant's Class B common stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K incorporates by reference portions of the registrant's Proxy Statement for its 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 11, 2016. Table of Contents HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION TABLE OF CONTENTS FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 PART I Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements . 1 Item 1. Business . 4 Item 1A. Risk Factors. 22 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments . 43 Item 2. Properties . 44 Item 3. Legal Proceedings . 49 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures . 49 Executive Officers of the Registrant. 50 PART II Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. 53 Item 6. Selected Financial Data. 56 Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations . 57 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk . 91 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. 91 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. 91 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures . 92 Item 9B. Other Information . 92 PART III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance . 93 Item 11. Executive Compensation. 93 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters. 93 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence . 94 Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services . 95 PART IV Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedule . 96 Signatures. 97 Table of Contents Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This annual report contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, financial performance, prospects or future events and involve known and unknown risks that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: • the factors discussed in this annual report set forth under the sections titled "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A, and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in Part II, Item 7; • general economic uncertainty in key global markets and a worsening of global economic conditions or low levels of economic growth; • the rate and the pace of economic recovery following economic downturns; • levels of spending in business and leisure segments as well as consumer confidence; • declines in occupancy and average daily rate; • limited visibility with respect to future bookings; • loss of key personnel; • hostilities, or fear of hostilities, including future terrorist attacks, that affect travel; • travel-related accidents; • natural or man-made disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes, floods, oil spills, nuclear incidents and global outbreaks of pandemics or contagious diseases or fear of such outbreaks; • our ability to successfully achieve certain levels of operating profits at hotels that have performance guarantees in favor of our third-party owners; • the impact of hotel renovations; • our ability to successfully execute our common stock repurchase program; • the seasonal and cyclical nature of the real estate and hospitality businesses; • changes in distribution arrangements, such as through Internet travel intermediaries; • changes in the tastes and preferences of our customers; • relationships with colleagues and labor unions and changes in labor laws; • the financial condition of, and our relationships with, third-party property owners, franchisees and hospitality venture partners; • the possible inability of third-party owners, franchisees or development partners to access capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; • risks associated with potential acquisitions and dispositions and the introduction of new brand concepts; • the timing of acquisitions and dispositions; • failure to successfully complete proposed transactions (including the failure to satisfy closing conditions or obtain required approvals); • unforeseen terminations of our management or franchise agreements; • changes in federal, state, local or foreign tax law; • increases in interest rates and operating costs; • foreign exchange rate fluctuations or currency restructurings; • lack of acceptance of new brands or innovation; • general volatility of the capital markets and our ability to access such markets; • changes in the competitive environment in our industry, including as a result of industry consolidation, and the markets where we operate; • cyber incidents and information technology failures; • outcomes of legal or administrative proceedings; and 1 Table of Contents • violations of regulations or laws related to our franchising business. These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by any of our forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. All forward- looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety